Hands-on with surreal PlayStation VR horror Here They Lie

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The PlayStation.Blog team can’t wait for 13 October. With the launch of PlayStation VR, we’re entering a new era of gaming — one that places players directly into the worlds that developers so lovingly create. To prepare for this amazing next chapter in PlayStation history, we all donned that PlayStation VR headset and sampled a bevy of upcoming PlayStation VR titles.

Sampling Here They Lie is a tall order — it means embracing the fear and uncertainty of stepping into a strange, terrifying world quite unlike our own. Developed by industry veterans with a wide range of expertise, Here They Lie drops players into a bleak city with the only hope being the soft voice and bright dress of a woman named Dana. What did we think of this visually immense first-person horror? Read on.

As an aficionado of all things that go bump in the night, I can’t help but feel that Tangentlemen crafted Here They Lie specifically for my own macabre enjoyment. It’s unquestionably one of my favourite PS VR launch titles, partly because it combines so many horror elements I cherish: surreal cityscapes, weird internet urban legends, H.P. Lovecraft. From a game perspective, Here They Lie is a riveting tour through a desolate, eerie city populated by mysterious entities. I felt like I was trapped in a strange fever dream or, as the game’s senior art director put it in our interview, a “digital hallucination.” The game’s use of PS VR’s 3D audio capabilities meant that I encountered trails of sonic breadcrumbs, creepy audio cues that lead me, hesitantly, to the next scare. This is one to watch if you’ve got PS VR on day one.–Sid Shuman

Here They Lie has a brilliant understanding of its own atmosphere. Meticulously decorated and hauntingly dressed, the world of Here They Lie is both terrifying and beautiful. A strange, sick city with a glimmer of hope taking shape in a woman named “Dana.” With PS VR, the dream-like effects — a rush of strange papers, the ghostly tapping of a typewriter — take on a new degree of realism totally unfelt on a traditional display. The developers at Tangentlemen are taking bold steps in this space, and you can feel it in their footprints.–Ryan Clements

I really don’t like scary things. Movies, games, campfire stories… it’s all a bit much for me. That said, horror VR is an experience quite unlike the ones afforded by more traditional media. Especially with PlayStation VR’s Social Screen feature, I see Here They Lie (and, by extension, VR horror titles in general) as a perfect experience to share with my significant other. I’ll play for 15 minutes or so, probably get freaked out, my girlfriend will laugh at me, then I’ll make her play and see how she fares. I might not be much of a horror connoisseur, but virtual reality and PS VR’s Social Screen could be just what I need to finally delve into a genre I otherwise tend to shy away from.–Justin Massongill

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sorry but whoever is in charge of approving and adding PS Now games for UK should be fired asap!how can they add trash games for next month?trash games no one knows nor plays?yet US PS NOW has MORE games than UK!sorry man, but you Sony are just ripping people off as usual!bringing PS Now to PC and adding piece of trash games. what gives???

I have looked everywhere to buy (preorder) this game, I cannot find it and have found the same issue with quite a few PS VR release day titles.I have seen it on Smyths toys website as Phisix07 stated but I believe that is just a placeholder, it’s also not on PSN store.It seems odd that release day games can’t be preordered with only 10 days to go before release of VR.

It’s on amazon.de it seems as well but again it’s a place holder as there isn’t much info on it.I’m guessing it’s a licensing issue the same reason for the demo disk having 8 titles instead of 16 like the US.

I’v never been a fan of horror games, even when I was completely taken with the horror genre in films. When VR came out I knew there were going to be a lot of horror games being released and I knew I wouldn’t want to play any of them. This game is the only one that has made me really question that.